Updraft

Storm Prediction Center (SPC) convective outlook today puts part of Minnesota in a slight risk for severe storms. After the latest start to severe weather season on record, the risk for severe storms is on the increase today in southern Minnesota. Early morning thunderstorms have already gone severe south of Redwood Falls. There is the…

Twin Cities NEXRAD loop at 3pm shows new wave of rain moving in for afternoon rush in the metro. There’s an old saying. “There really is no bad weather, just different kinds of good weather.” That is true this afternoon depending on your perspective. The next wave of rain is moving into the Twin Cities…

NEXRAD storm total doppler image shows lighter rains around the metro this morning, with over half an inch around St. Cloud. It’s a start. The first wave of rainfall moved northward overnight through Minnesota. Mostly light rain fell in the Twin Cities, with only about .06″ here at the Huttner Weather Lab. The rain picked…

NOAA rainfall forecasts show a 3 inch bull’s eye over central Minnesota this week. A pattern shift in the upper atmosphere is bringing rain back into the Minnesota weather forecast. A series of upper air waves and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will trigger showers and thunderstorms this week. Forecast models indicate parts of…

Call it a forecast for the wetter and for the better. The jet stream is moving closer to Minnesota this week. A series of upper air disturbances will ride along the jet stream this week bringing chances for much needed rainfall to the region. The first wave moves through tonight into Tuesday. A band of…

Twin Cities doppler radar shows a band of rain tracking through southern Minnesota Friday afternoon. The sky looks like rain at the Huttner Weather Lab today. But the doppler and the forecast models say it will stay south. For once, I wish they were wrong. The hose is running a trickle on my yellowing spruce…

The latest indepth field study of tornado formation is about to close out this weekend. The caravan of scientists with their Doppler on Wheels and research equipment departed out of Norman, Oklahoma more than a month ago. Their most successful tornadic episode was in Lagrange, Wyoming. Tornado captured on video by The Weather Channel Despite…

U.S. Drought Monitor released today shows Minnesota’s drought virtually unchanged from last week. It could have been worse. If not for two shots of rain totaling over an inch in most locations, the drought would have deepened again this week in Minnesota. As it is, we’re right where we were a week ago. An inch…

Sioux Falls NEXRAD clearly shows echoes from wind turbines along the Buffalo Ridge northeast of the radar site today. These echoes can be mistaken for showers or thunderstorms. Wind farms in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa are clearly visible on both the Twin Cities and Sioux Falls doppler radars this morning. The radar echoes often…

It’s nice to see the sun peeking out this afternoon. Enjoy more of the same in the coming days. I get a lot of questions from listeners about weather. Here are some of the more recent and common questions and a few answers. Q: How do you read a surface weather map? A: Check out…